Annoyed Confessions
by sensitivesarcasm
Summary: First story! Robin is confused by her feelings for a certain orange-haired thief. I don't own any characters inside. Rated T for mild language and themes. Please review! :D
1. Trapped!

_**First story on this website; please be honest in your reviews. Any ideas/suggestions would be appreciated. Enjoy! **_

Robin pulled the crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket for the tenth time, holding it directly in front of her amber eyes. With a frustrated groan, she crumpled the list and shoved it back into her coat. Sumia had given her a long list of flowers to collect, of all things. Robin had a soft spot for the clumsy Pegasus knight, so she'd agreed.

But now with only the starlight and creepy noises of the pitch-black forest to keep her company, she was regretting her decision. To be fair, she should've remembered to do it earlier. But being tactician of a large army did have a few demands. Sumia probably would've understood if Robin explained, but she was stubborn. There was no way she was going to admit that she knew absolutely nothing about flowers and she hated the creepy forest and she was-

**SNAP **

"OUCH!"

Robin tripped over something and landed hard on her backside, the forest dew soaking immediately through the bottom of her pants. Pain radiated through her left foot. With a grunt of pain, she leaned forward in the dim look to examine the damage she'd done.

It was caught in some kind of trap; the thick ropes wrapped around her ankle in a series of complicated webs so that whenever she moved her left leg they tightened noticeably. "Damn," Robin cursed under her breath, trying to move her already numb toes. Her ankle was turning a pale shade of blue. If she didn't hurry, she'd lose circulation and when they found her, they'd have to cut off her foot and then she'd be known as the one-footed tactician of Chrom-

In panic, she leaned forward and tried untying the trap, but her clumsy fingers only tightened the grip. She winced, trying and failing to remove her boot so she could attempt to slide her foot out. A hopeless search through her pockets revealed nothing of use for cutting the ropes. She was stuck in the middle of the forest with no weapons, no help, and pretty soon, no foot. _'And all this for stupid tiger-lilies,' _she thought bitterly, resting her chin on her knee.

A rustling noise close to her left made her snap her head up in alarm. It was probably just a small animal, but a foe that she could normally outrun was fatal to her in her current position. She silently cursed herself for being so dumb as to forget any sort of weapon. Now she was probably going to be eaten by a pack of wild bears…

A tall, dark shadow emerged from a tree. Robin blinked and leaned forward in the darkness, trying to make her eyes make sense of what she was seeing. The… thing stepped closer to her, and she caught her breath.

"Gaius!" She was nearly sobbing with relief, too happy to be embarrassed. The thief was standing about five feet away from her with an alarmed expression, sucking loudly on a lollipop. "Bubbles? What are you doin' here?"

Robin eagerly waved him forward, explaining how she'd gotten caught in the trap. Gaius quickly pulled out a short dagger and began working on the ropes, freeing her in a matter of seconds. Blood painfully began flowing back into her foot with a feeling like a million tiny knives pricking her skin. The places the ropes had cut into her were streaked with blood, but at least she was free.

"Ug," she whimpered, trying to stand unsuccessfully. She looked up at her rescuer apologetically, but he was already in motion, lifting her up into his arms bridal-style before she could even ask for help. "You shouldn't be walking on that foot, cupcake," he muttered, carrying her with complete ease. Robin awkwardly nodded, leaning into his chest a bit for support. Being carried wasn't exactly her cup of tea, and her foot was killing her at this point.

He smelled strongly of candy, she noticed absently, biting her lip as they finally entered the familiar safety of camp.

"Uh, Gaius, my tent is over-"

"I know," he interrupted, "I'm taking you to my tent. We gotta fix up that foot, don't we, Bubbles? I'll even give you a lollipop if you're a good patient." Robin scowled, crossing her arms. "Fine," she mumbled.

They reached his tent presently, and Robin was surprised to see how well-kept it was. She'd expected candy wrappers and… thief-y type things to be about, but his tent looked almost exactly the same as hers. He dumped her onto his bed informally and walked over to a small chest, rummaging nosily inside of it. Robin tenderly untied her boot, biting down on her lip roughly as she pulled it off. Her sock was coated in blood and she still couldn't feel her toes.

Gaius returned carrying a jar full of some sort of paste and a large bandage. He pulled off her sock slowly, let out a low whistle between his teeth. "Geez, Bubbles. I hate to think what would've happened if I hadn't found you."

Robin winced as he began applying the paste. "Thank you," she managed through her teeth. He shrugged, wrapping her wounds with the bandages and returning the supplies to the chest before sitting down next to her. She turned to him, curiosity taking over. "What were you doing in the forest this late at night, anyway?"

"What were _you_ doing out there?" He countered, pulling another lollipop out of his pocket and putting it into his mouth. "Picking flowers at midnight a hobby of yours?"

Robin's face turned pink, but she managed a small laugh. "Actually, I _was_ picking flowers- for Sumia," she explained, shaking her head a bit of the idiocy of it all. "Something about flower-petal fortunes…"

Gaius raised an orange eyebrow, shaking his head. Robin smirked up at him, poking him in the arm lightly. "I told you my reasons, now explain yours," she demanded.

"I was practicing archery."

"Archery?" Robin titled her head, frowning a little. "But why would a thief need to know-"

Her question was cut off by Gaius removing his lollipop from his mouth and shoving it into hers, effectively shutting her up.

"You ask a lot of questions," he chuckled, picking her up again and moving swiftly out of his tent "Time for bed, now."

_**Let me know what you think! **_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the story or even just read it, I appreciate the comments/recommendations. :D Also, feel free to PM me about anything. I think the story should be around three chapters long. **_

I'd been only a month since her- ahem- _accident _in the forest, but a lot had changed since then. Robin was musing over the truth of this as she laid back on her bed in the dim candlelight, playing idly with a strand of her hair. Lissa had announced proudly at dinner one night that she was expecting a child, much to Frederick's embarrassment.

Chrom had seemed more bemused than anything, but Robin could tell the prince was a bit freaked out by his sister's progressing pregnancy. Lissa still seemed child-like, and though Frederick had married her months ago, it was hard for Chrom to let her grow up.

Robin was worked half to death planning battles that sometimes never happened and ones that sometimes happened an hour later. Her wits kept everyone alive, but she wasn't sure for how long. Chrom was fair with her work load. But the metal stress of knowing her efforts were the difference between victory and death was… extreme.

She'd taken to sucking on cherry flavored lollipops all hours of the day to help relieve that stress. It didn't take a genius to tell where she'd picked up that habit. She was actually waiting for the thief to show up now as she popped another sweet in her mouth. She wasn't sure when Gaius had taken to visiting her every day. For the first week after she'd injured her foot, he'd claimed he was "just checking up on her." But her foot was long healed now, and he still showed up every night. She usually looked forward to his visits, but he did know how to get on her last nerve.

As if on cue with her thoughts, her tent flap opened silently and the orange-haired man entered with equal silence. She sat up in her bed, crossing her legs and waiting for his excuse for visiting today.

"You won't believe what I managed to pick up in town today," he exclaimed, both of his hands behind his back. Robin pursed her lips around her lollipop, considering. "I hope it's not another beehive…"

Gaius scowled at her, impatiently pushing his orange hair out of his eyes. He hated being reminding of the time he'd been chased by the swarm of bees into camp, receiving numerous stings until Tharja finally hexed the insects to sleep. "I was looking for honeycomb," he grunted, taking a step closer to her bed. "But if you're going to be unpleasant, then I'm not going to give you your present."

Robin shrugged. "I don't need your present anyway," she said, leaning back against her pillows. Gaius chuckled, sitting next to her and dropping something large and heavy into her lap.

"A Tactician's Guide to Battle Strategy: Volume 12," she read aloud from the book's cover, her eyes wide. "Gaius, I've been looking for this for- for _ages._ Where did you-" Before she could reach to open the cover, he snatched the book from her lap and held it tauntingly in front of her face. "Not-uh, Bubbles. _I don't need your present anyway,"_ he mimicked in a high-pitch soprano, giving her a victorious smile.

"I do _not_ sound like that, Gaius-" "I do not sound like that, Gaius!" "Stop it!" "Stop it!" "Gods, you are _so _annoying!" "Gods, you are _so-" _

Before he could finish mocking her, she slammed a pillow into his stomach roughly. He grunted in surprise, twisting her wrist until she dropped the pillow and throwing it to the other side of the tent. "You're lucky I'm too much of a perfect gentleman to ever lay a finger on a lady-"

"Then what's that?" She smirked, glancing down at his hand still holding her wrist. He let go of her like she was on fire, running his hand through his hair and hopping off the bed. "You know what, Bubbles? I'm outta here."

He dropped the book off on the edge of her bed as he walked to the exit. She eagerly crawled forward and hugged it to her chest, mentally sighing of all the sleep she'd be missing tonight. "Thank you," she called after him sincerely.

He paused at the entrance of her tent, his scowl quickly fading into a half-smile. "Don't mention it."

* * *

Robin sat at an empty table in the dining hall among the other early-risers. She wasn't eating, however. Her nose was buried in page 285 of the book Gaius had given her last night. She'd woken up this morning to dark circles under her eyes, but she didn't regret staying up all night reading. This volume was definitely the best of the series.

Robin looked up in surprise as Miriel sat across from her. The mage usually kept to herself and her husband, Vaike. "Good morning," Robin greeted her cheerfully, closing her book with a loud thud. Miriel nodded in agreement, straightening her hat. "I've been elected amongst a large percentage of the women in our small militia to converse with you about a personal matter."

Robin titled her head until the message sank in. "I'd be honored to discuss a personal matter with you, Miriel," she replied slowly, feeling a bit of heat rise up into her face. She didn't know Miriel very well, not well enough to discuss anything personal in the mage's life… "What seems to be wrong?"

"You misunderstand my meaning," Miriel replied, leaning forward slightly. She lowered her eyes to Robin's book sitting on the table. "Am I correct in assuming that this is a gift from your potential mate in an unconscious attempt to mimic the mating habits of various mammals- such as owls?" Robin bit her lip, struggling to keep up. "Owls?" she finally questioned, giving Miriel a meek grin.

Miriel nodded. "Male owls often drop scraps of flesh and meat- or in this analogy, a book- at a female's feet in order to show attraction. If the female is receptive, then mating can commence." "You think the book was… to show attraction?" Robin muttered, feeling very confused now. "I'm pretty sure it was just a gift."

Miriel sighed heavily, shaking her head. "Your point may very well have been more valid if this was the only such example of mimicked behavior. However, the overall analogy was poor in choice. I must continue in my-"

"Hold on," Robin interrupted suspiciously, "you said you were _elected? _What did you mean by that?" "My meaning was that a large number of women have expressed interested in your case study and have requested I inform-" "Case study!?" Miriel blinked in surprise as she was interrupted again. "Indeed. Since your courtship with Gaius began, I've been keeping close records. I must say, you've surpassed any other couple with your speed progress thus far."

"You're keeping a case study on my courtsh- on my relationship with Gaius?" Robin asked slowly. Miriel nodded, her eyes lighting up. "Not just yours. Lissa and Frederick, Maribelle and Lord Chrom, even Vaike and I are participants in my research. You see, I hope see how to conflicting personalities contribute to each relationship."

Robin nodded slowly, a small grin on her face. "In the name of science, what makes you think Gaius and I…" The red-head snorted. "His advances are fairly obvious. You seem receptive, making your courtship perfect for my observations." Robin couldn't help it, she let lose a chuckle. "Miriel, I believe you've gotten the wrong idea about-"

"I've already deducted that this is not a possibility. Gaius's affections have already been confirmed with some assistance from my partner, and yours are..." "Wait, your partner confirmed _what?" _

"Vaike has confirmed Gaius's affections toward you." Robin grinned dumbly, a warm feeling spreading through her chest. She cleared her throat as Miriel gave her a smug little smile. The mage was practically smirking.

"And your reaction has now proved that you _return _these emotions. The only thing that's left to be said is… what do you intent to do about it, Robin?"


End file.
